Redefinition
by Weeblswobl
Summary: An episode tag to 1.15 (spoilers ahead). There were several giant loose ends in this ep that I wanted to clean up.


**Redefinition  
**

Author's note: Oliver seemed unusually intense in this episode. Thought I'd deal with the consequences of that and also try to tie up the storyline with Felicity that the writers seemed to have left hanging. (Spoilers for 1.15 ahead!)

~ o ~

~ o ~

~ o ~

"Oh thank God," said Felicity, feeling the tension break in the band around her neck. The plastic slipped away as Diggle pulled it off of her and threw it across the room as a precaution. She took a deep breath and was on the verge of saying something that epitomized witty bravado when the phone in her hand caught her attention once again.

"Why are you doing this? I'm exactly like you. I only steal from the rich."

She heard Dodger gasp and from the sound of it, collapse on the ground.

"I am not Robin Hood," said Oliver acidly. There was a pause and he added, "Dig, tip the cops that there's a body at Wilkes and Munroe."

"Oliver-"said Diggle, but they both realized the line had gone silent.

_A body… _she thought. _A few minutes ago, he was a psycho jewel thief, and now he was a body… because of her._

"Hey," said Diggle, looking at her with concern. "Are you alright?"

She gave him a lifeless smile. "I kept my head, so I'd say I'm doing okay."

"I'm not talking about that," said Diggle kindly. "I know that look, and the train of thought behind it. I've been there, believe me."

The elephant in the room spun and danced a pirouette with the question neither of them would ask or answer. _Was it worth it? Was __**he **__worth it?_

"I suppose I should thank him," she said by way of answer. She looked at Diggle with eyes that had begun to water and said, "Just what _is_ proper etiquette, here? When someone saves your life and then murders the man who tried to kill you. Because I'm pretty sure Hallmark doesn't have a card for that one."

"Felicity, don't do this to yourself."

"I need to go," she said, wiping away a tear.

"I'll drive you home."

"No-"she said a bi t more forcefully than she intended. "It's okay. My car's valet parked. I'll be fine." Even she didn't believe the latter statement.

"One condition or I'm not letting you out of my sight," said Diggle.

"What?" she said wearily, desperately wanting the evening to suddenly be over.

"You call me when you get back to your apartment," he said with concern. "Deal?"

She gave him a tired smile that almost reached her eyes this time. "Deal."

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o

Oliver gritted his teeth as he made his way through the hotel ballroom, cursing the deal he had made with his mother that he personally hand the family's donated brooch to the lucky bidder. Diggle had stayed as well, through his own protests, though he did seem conflicted as to whether or not he should have seen Felicity home. Oliver sensed all was not well no that front, but each time he tried to ask Diggle about her, he was called away to meet another would-be donor.

He was stuck in a conversation with a hedge fund manager when he felt Diggle's hand on his shoulder.

"Mr. Queen, I'm sorry to interrupt, but there is a personal matter at the house that requires your immediate attention."

He tried not to be too enthusiastic about his goodbye.

"Ugh, we need a signal for getting me out of these situations in the future," he groaned.

"Work on that later," said Diggle urgently. "We have a problem."

Oliver's annoyance evaporated at Diggle's tone. "What happened?"

"Felicity. She was supposed to call me when she got home and so far, nothing. She should have been home half an hour ago."

"Cell?"

"Nothing."

"Office?"

"I called Rhys and asked him to check the logs. She hasn't been in since yesterday."

"Damn. Okay, you check her apartment. I'll swing by the factory on the off-chance she's there. If she isn't, I'll need to pick up supplies anyway."

"Supplies…"

"Dig-" he said in warning.

"Yeah, I'm on it."

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o

Oliver sighed in relief at the sight of Felicity's car parked just outside the side entrance to what Diggle had begun calling the Arrow Cave.

"Dig, her car's at the factory," he said.

"You want me to come in?"

"No, take the rest of the night off, I got this."

"Oliver," said Diggle, in that tone that he used when he was about to deliver bad news.

"She wasn't alright when she left, was she?" he cut in.

"No. She really wasn't."

"And you let her go anyway?" he said angrily.

"She insisted. Ironically, I think she was hoping to avoid running into you."

"Alright," he said resignedly. "Enough is enough. I need to fix this."

"Go easy, man," said Diggle. "She's still pretty scared."

"Of what?" he said incredulously. "Dodger's dead."

He cut the call short and didn't hear Diggle's reply, "And therein lies the problem."

He carefully made his way into the lower section of the factory, wondering why she would come here of all places. He was wondering if he had been mistaken about her being in the factory when he caught a glimpse of a high-heeled sandals around the corner, their position indicating that their owner was sitting against the wall.

"Felicity?" he said as he rounded the bank of computer monitors that were blocking his view. He was unprepared for the sight.

She was still in her barely-there cocktail dress, an incongruous sight in the industrial room that made her seem like a stranger. From the tracks of mascara on her face, it appeared she had been crying, several of her blonde locks were plastered to her face. She didn't acknowledge him, merely stared at the wall in front of her, breathing slowly.

"Hey," said Oliver with concern. He put his gear down on a table and sank to the floor next to her. "Are you hurt?" He couldn't see any kind of physical injury but the glassy look in her eyes unnerved him.

"Felicity…talk to me," he said, turning her head to face him. He may has well have turned on a spigot, because tears welled in her eyes once again. "What's going on?" he said softly. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to be somewhere safe… for a little while," she said quietly.

"The Glades is hardly a safe place," said Oliver, clearly confused. "Why come here? Why didn't you check in with Dig?"

"This room," she said softly, "with its wires and monitors and electronic locks. That I trust." She paused a moment, uncharacteristically mulling over what she was about to say next. Meeting his eyes, she added in a bare whisper, "It doesn't seem so safe now."

"He's gone, Felicity. He won't hurt you again."

"And you're here." She started at her hands, which were fidgeting in her lap.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying your problem-solving skills could really use some work," she said flatly.

"What do you want from me?" he said in low growl. "Was I supposed to let him kill you? And Diggle too? I hate to break it to you but you can't have a moral compass if you're dead."

He suddenly realized that his tone had turned far more ominous than he intended, and that the girl in front of him was shaking like a leaf. He tried a different tract.

"Come on, I know you're stronger than this." His plan to make her angry worked a little better than intended, with entirely unexpected results.

She turned an icy gaze to him. "My life has been threatened twice in the last forty-eight hours. I'm sorry if I'm having a little bit of a problem dealing with that," she said through angry tears.

"Wait, what?" he said in confusion. What had he missed? "You saw Dodger before tonight?"

"No," she said simply. Putting all of her grief into three simple words, she added, "I saw you."

"Okay," he said, holding his hands up in a surrender gesture. "Not following you on that one. What do you mean you saw me?"

"Well, heard… rather." she said.

"Heard what? Felicity _what_ are you talking about?" he said worriedly.

"Mister Diggle is a good man."

"Felicity-"

"Don't interrupt," she said sharply. Her tone softened as she continued."Mister Diggle is a good man, and I mean capital G, capital M. He's the prototypical good guy in every movie you've ever seen and every book you've ever read. And he'd do almost anything for you."

"I know that, Felicity. You don't have to convince me. Where are you going with this?"

She took a deep breath and said quietly, "If you are willing to put an arrow through someone that honorable for going against your wishes, what chance does a scrappy little IT girl possibly have? Even if she is arguing for the right reasons?"

"You think I'm going to kill you?" he sagged against the wall a bit, stunned at her logic.

"You tell me," she said simply, refusing to meet his gaze.

"It was just…banter," said Oliver. "Nothing ever unsettles Dig, so I keep trying to find ways to get to him, just for the hell of it."

"Oh come on, Oliver. Even Mister Diggle thought you were serious."

"No, he didn't," said Oliver with conviction. He didn't tell her about the conversation with Dig later where he had made his apologies.

She looked at him doubtfully.

"Felicity, I recruited Dig into my … cause. It was his choice. I know you got dragged into this with no warning, and it's your choice to stay or go as you please. " He looked her in the eye and wiped a stray hair away from her face, adding, "No repercussions."

The truth was, he was only half-joking when he told Diggle the consequences of ratting him out to Starling City's finest. The effect it had had on their relationship, even for that short period before they talked things over, had unnerved him, and he realized for the first time what he stood to lose. Diggle was always telling him that he didn't put enough trust in people. He had a feeling that proving his friend wrong, at least this time, was the only way to make things right.

"You mean it?" she said warily.

"I do."

"So if I were to pick up the phone and dial Detective Lance right now – which, I can't really do because I don't have his number, but still, if I did-"

Instead of becoming angry, Oliver found himself relieved at the babble that indicated she was coming around.

"I will leave that to your conscience," he said simply. "But like you said, I can do a lot of good in this city."

"Oliver," she looked at him firmly. "You should know that I'm never going to support killing people. Not if there's another way."

"I know. And I can't promise you I won't, but what if I tell you I will at least consider my options?"

"That's the best I'm going to get, isn't it."

"Afraid so."

"It'll do, I guess," she said resignedly.

"You should know something too," he said.

"What?"

He didn't want to have this conversation, but after tonight he knew it was inevitable. As usual, Dig had been right and he had been too stubborn to listen.

"I'm going to need your help, but I am also going to take steps to keep you out of this as much as possible."

"What? Why?" she said suspiciously. "You just said-"

He shifted position so that he was sitting facing her. "Tonight shouldn't have happened. Dig worried that if we brought you into this, we wouldn't be able to keep you safe, and he was right. What happened to you is on me." His mind replayed images of a terrified blonde backing away from him in an effort to save his life at the expense of her own.

He winced when he saw her unconsciously run her fingers over the spot on her throat where the collar had been. He pulled her hand away and held it in his own.

He gazed at her with concern and tried to convey regrets for more than just putting her in jeopardy that evening. "I'm sorry."

She merely nodded a couple of times, and said in a choked voice, "It's okay. Tough first week."

He pulled her gently towards him and said, "Come here." He wrapped an arm around her and was relieved when she rested her head on his shoulder.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. He listened as Felicity's ragged breaths eventually give way to a slow, controlled rhythm.

"Oliver?" she said softly.

"Yeah?"

"This is a safe place, too."

He leaned over to touched his forehead to hers, said, "Always."


End file.
